For those of you looking to collect a stamp and postal history of the U.S. “classic” period, take a close look at the 1¢ Franklin of the 1861 Series (Scott No. 63 for the regular issue). It’s a beautiful stamp and not too difficult to learn about. Most of what you need to know is found in one book: The United States 1¢ Franklin 1861-1867, by Don L. Evans (Linn’s Stamp News, 1997).
In addition to postal history, the blue 1¢ Franklin has other beautiful colors to collect in its essays, proofs, and trial colors. It figures significantly in the experimental or “patent” printings that the Post Office Department (POD) was considering to prevent the illegal reuse of stamps. These trials culminated with the printing in 1867 of the “grilled” stamps (No. 86 & 92 for the 1¢).
For fancy cancel collectors, the 1¢ Franklin offers hundreds of wonderful examples in black, blue, and red, as well as other rarer colors. And for the Civil War buff, the 1¢ is deeply entwined in the postal history of this tragic period, and is found on soldiers’ letters and colorful “patriotic” envelopes.
Implementing the 1861 Issue is a fascinating study of what government bureaucracy can do when pressed, and much of the credit for success goes to the skills and leadership of Postmaster General Montgomery Blair. Beginning in late March 1861, the POD announced bids for the new stamp design and printing contract, reviewed the essay submissions and cost proposals, awarded the contract to the National Bank Note Company of New York (NBN), ordered several changes to the design, oversaw the printing schedule and production process, notified the public and local postmasters of the new rules and procedures, organized the return of the old stamps, and beginning in August 1861 issued the new stamps for the public’s use. The entire project was pretty much completed by the end of January 1862.
The earliest documented use of the off cover 1¢ Franklin is August 19, 1861; on cover is August 21. Records show that NBN used 5 plates (Nos. 9, 10, 22, 25, & 27) in printing the 1¢. Plate No. 9, used in early printings, is the source of the “dot-in-U” plate variety listed in Scott.
For example, William C. Wycoff patented the idea of coating stamp paper with zinc oxide before printing. This resulted in a “fugitive ink” after printing that would dissolve if the stamp was exposed to water, thus destroying the stamp image. Interesting idea, but not too practical in its implementation because even the moisture of perspiration on a postal clerk’s or customer’s fingers would smear the ink and ruin the stamp for use. Nonetheless, a number of printings in various colors, both perforated and imperforate were made, and many of these “trial color” stamps remain today.
Charles F. Steel, who had a lot of prior experience in stamp production, designed a process whereby sheets of stamps would be passed through a mechanical device that would make a small waffle shaped impression in the middle of each stamp. This little “grill” would actually break the stamp paper’s fibers just enough so that when canceled, the grill would create a blotter like effect and absorb the ink, thus making it near impossible to soak out later. And, it worked!
Grilled stamps are found in all denominations of the 1861 Issue stamps. In the 1¢ Franklin they are the: E grill (No. 86), F grill (No. 92), and Z grill (No. 85A). The letters relate to the different horizontal and vertical dimensions of the grill impression. The stamps were printed in blue. The Z grill has the honor of being one of the world’s rarest and most expensive stamps. Only two are known and one of these is permanently off the market in the New York City Public Library’s stamp collection. The other sold at auction in 1998 for $935,000 (plus 10 percent buyer’s fee), a world record price for a single U.S. stamp!
For various purposes, the POD sometimes issued “special printings” of previously issued stamps, including the 1¢ Franklin. This is an area primarily of interest to the specialist collector and includes “specimen” and control number overprints, overprinted large die proofs, and stamps or proofs for special events.
Several other special printings of the 1¢ Franklin for special events, such as the 1881 International Cotton Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, yield wonderful examples of the printer¹s craft in beautiful trial colors and proofs.
While an explanation of all the rates and fees of the period is beyond the scope of this overview, some of the more common usages of the 1¢ Franklin were for:
- Drop Letters. These envelopes were taken to the post office and “dropped off” with the postmaster for later pick up by the addressee.
- General Mail. These letters, to addressees in another town, traveled overland, or sometimes by ship, to the post office for pick up by the addressee.
- Carrier Service. Post offices in a small number of the larger cities, such as Boston, New York City, and Philadelphia, employed “carriers” who made the rounds of various collection points to pick up mail and “carry it” to the post office for processing. Conversely, they would carry mail from the post office to a local city street address. Until July 1, 1863, a 1¢ fee was charged for this service. Carrier covers are a particularly interesting aspect of 1¢ Franklin postal history.
- Circular Mail. What we today might term junk mail, such things as printed advertising, price lists, and transportation schedules could be sent in unsealed envelopes at a lower rate than for sealed first class letters
- Transient Mail. Newspapers, publications, and printed material of a temporary or “transient” nature were often sent through the mail with a plain looking wrapper around the item. These humble, plain looking covers are scarcer than envelopes because they were not often saved.
- Patriotic Covers. These special envelopes were very popular in the North during the Civil War. There are hundreds of different styles. Usually in two or more colors, the printed (and in some highly prized cases, hand painted) cachets on the envelope depicted some patriotic theme in support of the Union’s position and of its military leaders, soldiers, and sailors
- Foreign Mail. The 1¢ Franklin is typically found on envelopes bound for foreign destinations in combination with other stamps of the 1861 Series. You will also find in most cases more than one postal marking, either made by hand stamp and/or manuscript, put there as the envelope moved from country to country. This multiple franking and cancellation variety makes for many colorful and very interesting covers that can often be a challenge to figure out just how they traveled.
Hopefully, this brief overview of the 1¢ Franklin will whet the appetite of some experienced or would be stamp collector to explore this beautiful stamp and its many usages during one of the United States’ more interesting, if tragic, periods. Happy collecting!
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